The Gift of Giving

This Christmas season has been quite exceptional – spending time with my family and closest friends. I have been blessed with many great Christmas seasons, but this is one of the most memorable. The difference was my personal approach and response to an internal struggle.

There’s only one thing in life you can control: your own effort

~MARK CUBAN

For many years, our Christmas revolved around how much can we gift each other. Although the intent is pure and rooted in a genuine love to make one another happy, the process became a stressful endeavor for me. The ideation, the selection, and financial appropriation were amongst the most the challenging. This may be the Christmas spirit, but this is not the reason for the season.

A great friend introduced me to an amazing non-profit organization — my world needed a changed and Kiva did that for me. It repurposed how I celebrated Christmas with my loved ones. Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 as a loan to create opportunities in over 80 countries around the world. Once the opportunity has been realized, 99% of the borrowers are able to repay the loan so that the original investor can repurpose the funds to another individual. I gave each person in my family a Kiva gift card to spread joy, love, and opportunity throughout the world. This is my gift of giving.

For the first time, my Christmas was not challenging and my funds (and my spirit) went to endeavors that speak directly to my heart and the hearts of those that I love. As Mark Cuban emphasized, my effort is what I can control – that is what has changed my Christmas reality.